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Question 2 MCQ · 1.0 marks
Read the excerpt given below and fill in the blanks with those forms of the verbs which best fit the
passage from the options provided. Your chosen answer should maintain the tense consistency of
the excerpt.
It is hard to forget repulsive things. I remember yet how I ran off from school once when I was a
boy, and then, pretty late at night, concluded to climb into the window of my father’s office and
(i)____ on a lounge, because I had a delicacy about going home and getting thrashed. As I (ii)____
on the lounge and my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I fancied I could see a long, dusky,
shapeless thing stretched upon the floor. A cold shiver went through me. I (iii)____ my face to the
wall. That did not answer. I was afraid that the thing would creep over and seize me in the dark. I
turned back and stared at it for minutes and minutes—they seemed hours. It (iv)____ to me that
the lagging moonlight never, never would get to it. I turned to the wall and counted twenty, to
pass the feverish time away. I looked—the pale square was nearer. I (v)____ again and counted
fifty—it was almost touching it. With desperate will I turned again and counted one hundred, and
faced about, all in a tremble.
Source: Moments with Mark Twain - Mark Twain
Find the appropriate verb to fill the blank (i) :
6406537087493.
Sleep
6406537087494.
Slept
6406537087495.
Was sleeping
6406537087496.
Sleeps
Published solution
The passage tells a childhood story using past-time actions. The source selects 'slept', reading the sentence as 'I concluded ... and [I] slept on a lounge'. There is a genuine coordination ambiguity: if 'climb' and 'sleep' are both governed by 'to', 'concluded to climb ... and sleep' is also grammatical. Therefore B is the source's narrative reading; A is not inherently ungrammatical.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Valid under coordination of the two infinitives, 'to climb ... and sleep'; the source instead chooses a coordinated finite past action.
B: **Correct:** Simple past of sleep; fits the source's reading of two narrated past events.
C: **Incorrect:** An ongoing past action would normally require 'and I was sleeping' under this reading.
D: **Incorrect:** Third-person present neither agrees with I nor maintains the past narrative.
Read the excerpt given below and fill in the blanks with those forms of the verbs which best fit the
passage from the options provided. Your chosen answer should maintain the tense consistency of
the excerpt.
It is hard to forget repulsive things. I remember yet how I ran off from school once when I was a
boy, and then, pretty late at night, concluded to climb into the window of my father’s office and
(i)____ on a lounge, because I had a delicacy about going home and getting thrashed. As I (ii)____
on the lounge and my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I fancied I could see a long, dusky,
shapeless thing stretched upon the floor. A cold shiver went through me. I (iii)____ my face to the
wall. That did not answer. I was afraid that the thing would creep over and seize me in the dark. I
turned back and stared at it for minutes and minutes—they seemed hours. It (iv)____ to me that
the lagging moonlight never, never would get to it. I turned to the wall and counted twenty, to
pass the feverish time away. I looked—the pale square was nearer. I (v)____ again and counted
fifty—it was almost touching it. With desperate will I turned again and counted one hundred, and
faced about, all in a tremble.
Source: Moments with Mark Twain - Mark Twain
Find the appropriate verb form to fill the blank (ii):
6406537087497.
Laid
6406537087498.
Lay
6406537087499.
Laying
6406537087500.
Had laid
Published solution
Here the boy is reclining, so use the intransitive verb lie. Its principal parts are lie–lay–lain. The story is in the past: 'As I lay on the lounge'. Do not confuse this with lay–laid–laid, meaning put something somewhere.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Laid is the past of transitive lay and needs an object here.
B: **Correct:** Lay is the simple past of lie, meaning recline.
C: **Incorrect:** Laying needs an auxiliary and normally an object.
D: **Incorrect:** Had laid requires an object and describes an earlier completed placing action.
Read the excerpt given below and fill in the blanks with those forms of the verbs which best fit the
passage from the options provided. Your chosen answer should maintain the tense consistency of
the excerpt.
It is hard to forget repulsive things. I remember yet how I ran off from school once when I was a
boy, and then, pretty late at night, concluded to climb into the window of my father’s office and
(i)____ on a lounge, because I had a delicacy about going home and getting thrashed. As I (ii)____
on the lounge and my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I fancied I could see a long, dusky,
shapeless thing stretched upon the floor. A cold shiver went through me. I (iii)____ my face to the
wall. That did not answer. I was afraid that the thing would creep over and seize me in the dark. I
turned back and stared at it for minutes and minutes—they seemed hours. It (iv)____ to me that
the lagging moonlight never, never would get to it. I turned to the wall and counted twenty, to
pass the feverish time away. I looked—the pale square was nearer. I (v)____ again and counted
fifty—it was almost touching it. With desperate will I turned again and counted one hundred, and
faced about, all in a tremble.
Source: Moments with Mark Twain - Mark Twain
Find the appropriate verb form to fill the blank (iii):
6406537087501.
Would turn
6406537087502.
Turned
6406537087503.
Turnt
6406537087504.
Turn
Published solution
The boy next moves his face towards the wall. A completed action in this past narrative takes simple past: 'I turned my face to the wall'.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Would turn suggests a future-in-the-past or repeated action rather than this single next event.
B: **Correct:** Turned is the standard simple-past form.
C: **Incorrect:** Turnt is not the standard past-tense form required here.
D: **Incorrect:** Turn is present/base form; the narration requires past.
Read the excerpt given below and fill in the blanks with those forms of the verbs which best fit the
passage from the options provided. Your chosen answer should maintain the tense consistency of
the excerpt.
It is hard to forget repulsive things. I remember yet how I ran off from school once when I was a
boy, and then, pretty late at night, concluded to climb into the window of my father’s office and
(i)____ on a lounge, because I had a delicacy about going home and getting thrashed. As I (ii)____
on the lounge and my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I fancied I could see a long, dusky,
shapeless thing stretched upon the floor. A cold shiver went through me. I (iii)____ my face to the
wall. That did not answer. I was afraid that the thing would creep over and seize me in the dark. I
turned back and stared at it for minutes and minutes—they seemed hours. It (iv)____ to me that
the lagging moonlight never, never would get to it. I turned to the wall and counted twenty, to
pass the feverish time away. I looked—the pale square was nearer. I (v)____ again and counted
fifty—it was almost touching it. With desperate will I turned again and counted one hundred, and
faced about, all in a tremble.
Source: Moments with Mark Twain - Mark Twain
Find the appropriate verb form to fill the blank (iv):
6406537087505.
Appeared
6406537087506.
Appears
6406537087507.
Had appeared
6406537087508.
Would appear
Published solution
'It appeared to me' means 'it seemed to me'. This perception occurs at the current point in the past story, so simple past fits the surrounding 'turned', 'stared', and 'looked'.
**Answer: A.**
A: **Correct:** Appeared maintains the simple-past narration.
B: **Incorrect:** Appears changes to present time.
C: **Incorrect:** Had appeared would put the perception before another past reference point; this sequence does not require that shift.
D: **Incorrect:** Would appear introduces a conditional, habitual or later-from-the-past meaning that is not intended.
Read the excerpt given below and fill in the blanks with those forms of the verbs which best fit the
passage from the options provided. Your chosen answer should maintain the tense consistency of
the excerpt.
It is hard to forget repulsive things. I remember yet how I ran off from school once when I was a
boy, and then, pretty late at night, concluded to climb into the window of my father’s office and
(i)____ on a lounge, because I had a delicacy about going home and getting thrashed. As I (ii)____
on the lounge and my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I fancied I could see a long, dusky,
shapeless thing stretched upon the floor. A cold shiver went through me. I (iii)____ my face to the
wall. That did not answer. I was afraid that the thing would creep over and seize me in the dark. I
turned back and stared at it for minutes and minutes—they seemed hours. It (iv)____ to me that
the lagging moonlight never, never would get to it. I turned to the wall and counted twenty, to
pass the feverish time away. I looked—the pale square was nearer. I (v)____ again and counted
fifty—it was almost touching it. With desperate will I turned again and counted one hundred, and
faced about, all in a tremble.
Source: Moments with Mark Twain - Mark Twain
Find the appropriate verb form to fill the blank (v):
6406537087509.
Had turned
6406537087510.
Turned
6406537087511.
Turn
6406537087512.
Would turn
Published solution
The sequence is: he looked, turned again, and counted fifty. These successive completed events use simple past. Thus 'I turned again and counted fifty'.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Had turned unnecessarily shifts the turn to an earlier past time.
B: **Correct:** Turned continues the chronological sequence.
C: **Incorrect:** Turn fails to maintain past tense.
D: **Incorrect:** Would turn changes the meaning away from the single narrated event.
Choose the correct option: “It was hot, so I __________ the door.”
6406537087513.
Shutted
6406537087514.
Am shut
6406537087515.
Was shut
6406537087516.
Shut
Published solution
'Was' sets a past context. Shut is irregular: shut–shut–shut. Therefore the completed action is 'I shut the door'. The subject I performs the action; the door receives it.
**Answer: D.**
A: **Incorrect:** Shutted is not the standard past form.
B: **Incorrect:** Am shut is present passive and makes I the affected subject.
C: **Incorrect:** Was shut makes I the passive subject rather than the person closing the door.
D: **Correct:** Shut is both the base and simple-past form.
Aspiration is a small puff of air after a voiceless stop. In the course pronunciation model, /k/ at the start of stressed 'company' and /p/ at the onset of the stressed syllable in 'improve' are aspirated. The /p/ in the initial /spr/ cluster of 'spreadsheets' follows /s/, which suppresses aspiration.
**Answer: D.**
A: **Incorrect:** The relevant /p/ follows /s/ in a cluster.
B: **Incorrect:** Company does contain aspirated /k/, but improve also qualifies.
C: **Incorrect:** Improve contains aspirated /p/ in its stressed syllable, but company also qualifies.
D: **Correct:** Includes both words that contain an aspirated stop.
The plural marker for the words ‘stakeholders’, ‘stockouts’, and ‘networks’ ends in:
6406537087521.
/s/, /s/, and /z/ respectively
6406537087522.
/z/, /z/, and /s/ respectively
6406537087523.
/z/, /s/, and /s/ respectively
Published solution
Choose the plural sound from the final sound of the singular, not from spelling. Stakeholder ends in a voiced sound, giving /z/. Stockout ends in voiceless /t/, giving /s/. Network ends in voiceless /k/, also giving /s/. Hence /z/, /s/, /s/.
**Answer: C.**
A: **Incorrect:** Reverses the stakeholder and network endings.
B: **Incorrect:** Stockouts has /s/, not /z/, after /t/.
C: **Correct:** Correctly applies voiced /z/ and voiceless /s/ rules.
Choose the correct option: "Nitrogen atoms ___________ around the exoplanet."
6406537087524.
Circle
6406537087525.
Circling
6406537087526.
Cycles
Published solution
'Nitrogen atoms' is a plural subject. A general scientific description uses simple present with the uninflected verb: 'Nitrogen atoms circle around the exoplanet'.
**Answer: A.**
A: **Correct:** Plural subjects take circle in the simple present.
B: **Incorrect:** Circling needs an auxiliary such as are to form a finite predicate.
C: **Incorrect:** Cycles is a singular verb form and also changes the supplied verb.
Choose the correct option: "Next year my parents __________ for 30 years."
6406537087527.
Will be
6406537087528.
Will have been married
6406537087529.
Will have been marrying
Published solution
Next year is a future reference point, and 'for 30 years' measures the duration of the married state up to it. Future perfect uses will + have + past participle: 'will have been married'. It describes thirty years of marriage, not thirty years of repeatedly getting married.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Will be does not supply the required married state; 'will be for 30 years' is incomplete here.
B: **Correct:** Will have been married expresses the duration reached by next year.
C: **Incorrect:** Marrying describes the act of getting married, not the continuing state intended.
Choose the correct option: "Everyone __________ waiting for the final results."
6406537087530.
Were
6406537087531.
Is
6406537087532.
Are
Published solution
Everyone means all people individually but is grammatically singular. The present continuous is is + waiting: 'Everyone is waiting for the final results'.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Were is plural past and does not agree with everyone here.
B: **Correct:** Is is the singular auxiliary needed with everyone.
C: **Incorrect:** Are is a plural auxiliary.
Count spoken vowel nuclei: at–tri–bu–tion. In the standard pronunciation used here, attribution has four syllables, with primary stress on 'bu'. Letters and syllables need not have equal counts.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Three leaves out a spoken syllable.
B: **Correct:** The four parts are at, tri, bu, tion.
C: **Incorrect:** Attribution contains several vowel nuclei, not one.
Examination is pronounced with primary stress on the syllable 'na': ex–am–i–NA–tion. Stress means that this syllable is more prominent; the final '-tion' is unstressed.
**Answer: A.**
A: **Correct:** Correctly marks primary stress on NA.
B: **Incorrect:** Does not place the single primary stress on the required syllable.
C: **Incorrect:** Incorrectly stresses the ending.
D: **Incorrect:** Incorrectly puts primary stress at the start.
In the standard pronunciation used for this question, cavalier has its primary stress on the final syllable: cav–a–LIER. A word can also have secondary stress, but that does not change the location of its primary stress.
**Answer: D.**
A: **Incorrect:** The first syllable does not carry the main stress.
B: **Incorrect:** The penultimate syllable is not the main stressed syllable.
C: **Incorrect:** The word does have primary stress.
D: **Correct:** LIER, the final syllable, receives primary stress.
“The blackboard was recently polished in the wake of the inspection held in the school.”
Which among the following rightly represents the stress pattern in the underlined words in the
given sentence?
6406537087544.
BLACKboard, REcently, INspection
6406537087545.
blackBOARD, REcently, inSPECtion
6406537087546.
blackBOARD, reCENTly, inspecTION
6406537087547.
BLACKboard, REcently, inSPECtion
Published solution
Check each word independently: BLACKboard is a compound stressed on its first part; REcently has first-syllable stress; inSPECtion has second-syllable stress. Only D gives all three correctly.
**Answer: D.**
A: **Incorrect:** Inspection should be inSPECtion, not INspection.
B: **Incorrect:** Blackboard should have initial stress.
C: **Incorrect:** All three stress placements differ from the required pattern.
D: **Correct:** Matches BLACKboard, REcently and inSPECtion.
The plural markers for the words "lenses", "chargers", and "connectors" are :
6406537087548.
/z/, /s/, and /s/ respectively
6406537087549.
/ɪz/, /z/, and /z/ respectively
6406537087550.
/s/, /s/, and /z/ respectively
Published solution
Lens ends in the sibilant /z/, so its plural adds a syllable /ɪz/. Charger and connector end in voiced sounds, so they take /z/ without a new syllable. This gives /ɪz/, /z/, /z/.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Lenses needs /ɪz/ and the other two take voiced /z/.
B: **Correct:** Correctly applies the sibilant and voiced-ending rules.
C: **Incorrect:** None of these plural markers is the voiceless /s/ specified in this pattern.
In the plural noun “roads”, the plural marker sounds as:
6406537087551.
/s/
6406537087552.
/z/
6406537087553.
/iz/
Published solution
Road ends in voiced /d/. After a voiced non-sibilant, the regular plural ending is /z/: road /rəʊd/ becomes roads /rəʊdz/. No extra vowel syllable is inserted.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** /s/ follows voiceless non-sibilants, not /d/.
B: **Correct:** /z/ follows the voiced /d/ here.
C: **Incorrect:** An extra /ɪz/ syllable follows sibilants; /d/ is not a sibilant.
In the course pronunciation model, character begins with aspirated /k/ in a stressed syllable. Impossible has aspirated /p/ at the onset of its stressed syllable. In starch, /t/ follows /s/ in the same initial cluster and is not aspirated.
**Answer: D.**
A: **Incorrect:** The /st/ cluster suppresses aspiration of /t/.
B: **Incorrect:** Character qualifies, but impossible qualifies too.
C: **Incorrect:** Impossible qualifies, but character qualifies too.
D: **Correct:** Includes both qualifying words.
Identify whether the sound /t/ (in bold) in the following word is aspirated or not.
S**t**able
6406537087558.
+asp
6406537087559.
–asp
Published solution
The /t/ in stable belongs to the initial /st/ cluster. English voiceless stops immediately following /s/ in such a cluster are unaspirated, even though the syllable is stressed.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** The /s/ before /t/ suppresses the usual aspiration.
B: **Correct:** –asp correctly labels this /t/ as unaspirated.
Why is the /p/ in "potato" (first syllable) not aspirated?
6406537087560.
It is voiced
6406537087561.
It is word-final
6406537087562.
It follows /s/
6406537087563.
It is not in a stressed syllable
Published solution
Potato has primary stress on its second syllable: po–TA–to. Under the course's introductory aspiration rule, the first /p/ is not in a stressed syllable, so it does not receive the strong aspiration associated with stressed onsets. Actual aspiration strength can vary by accent and speaking style.
**Answer: D.**
A: **Incorrect:** /p/ is voiceless, not voiced.
B: **Incorrect:** This /p/ is word-initial, not final.
C: **Incorrect:** There is no preceding /s/ in potato.
D: **Correct:** The first syllable is unstressed in the pronunciation model being tested.
Teacher has two spoken syllables: teach–er. The letters 'ea' represent one vowel sound, and 'ch' represents one consonant sound; do not split these letter groups into extra spoken syllables.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Separating te and ach invents an extra syllable.
B: **Correct:** Teach–er gives the two spoken syllables.
C: **Incorrect:** A lone t is not a syllable with its own vowel nucleus here.
Imagine today is Monday. Which sentence suggests that the action will already be complete
before Friday?
6406537087567.
I will work on the project on Friday.
6406537087568.
I will be working on the project on Friday.
6406537087569.
I will have completed the project by Friday.
6406537087570.
I will have been working on the project on Friday.
Published solution
To look forward to a deadline and say an action will already be finished, use future perfect: will + have + past participle. 'Will have completed ... by Friday' makes Friday the completion deadline.
**Answer: C.**
A: **Incorrect:** Schedules work on Friday without promising completion.
B: **Incorrect:** Describes work in progress on Friday.
C: **Correct:** Explicitly presents completion by the future deadline.
D: **Incorrect:** Focuses on the duration of ongoing work, not completed output.
Future perfect has the structure will have + past participle. Leave has past participle left, so 'We will have left by 8' says the departure will be complete by that future time.
**Answer: C.**
A: **Incorrect:** Will leave is simple future.
B: **Incorrect:** Will be leaving is future continuous.
C: **Correct:** Will have left is future perfect.
D: **Incorrect:** Will be leaving remains future continuous even with after 8.
Which sentence focuses on an activity happening right now?
6406537087575.
I work in Chennai.
6406537087576.
I have worked in Chennai for five years.
6406537087577.
I am working on a report.
6406537087578.
I have worked on this report before.
Published solution
Present continuous uses am/is/are + verb-ing for an activity in progress now. 'I am working on a report' directly presents the current activity.
**Answer: C.**
A: **Incorrect:** Simple present usually describes a regular job or general fact here.
B: **Incorrect:** Present perfect describes experience or a duration up to now.
C: **Correct:** Am working expresses the ongoing activity.
D: **Incorrect:** Have worked ... before describes earlier experience.
Use for with a duration, such as five years, and since with a starting point, such as 2022. Present perfect connects the past beginning to the present: 'I have studied here for five years'.
**Answer: C.**
A: **Incorrect:** 2022 is a starting year, so use since 2022.
B: **Incorrect:** Five years is a duration, so use for five years.
C: **Correct:** Correctly combines present perfect with for + duration.
D: **Incorrect:** Simple present does not normally express this continuing five-year history in this standalone sentence.
Sarah's tiredness is a past result. Past perfect continuous, had been + verb-ing, shows an activity continuing before that past point: working all day caused her to be tired.
**Answer: A.**
A: **Correct:** Had been working gives both the earlier duration and its past result.
B: **Incorrect:** Past worked conflicts with the future time tomorrow in this intended context.
C: **Incorrect:** Has working is missing been and is not a valid perfect-continuous construction.
D: **Incorrect:** Was worked is passive and does not mean Sarah herself had been working.
Which sentence shows an event that happened before another past event?
6406537087587.
Maya was cooking dinner at 7 p.m.
6406537087588.
Maya cooked dinner yesterday.
6406537087589.
Maya had cooked dinner before her guests arrived.
6406537087590.
Maya has cooked dinner.
Published solution
There are two past events: cooking dinner and the guests' arrival. Past perfect 'had cooked' places the completed cooking before the simple-past 'arrived'.
**Answer: C.**
A: **Incorrect:** Past continuous gives an ongoing action at a past time.
B: **Incorrect:** Simple past reports a past event without the two-event sequence asked for.
C: **Correct:** Explicitly places completed cooking before the guests arrived.
D: **Incorrect:** Present perfect connects a past action to now, not to another past event.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Last Monday, Arjun reached the airport at 7 a.m. Unfortunately, the flight had already departed
before he arrived. While he was waiting for the next flight, he realized that he had forgotten his
passport at home. Now, he has booked another ticket. Tomorrow, he will be travelling again, and
by next week, he will have completed his business trip.
Which option shows an action completed before another past action?
6406537087591.
reached the airport
6406537087592.
had already departed
6406537087593.
was waiting
6406537087594.
has booked
Published solution
The flight departed first, and Arjun arrived later. 'Had already departed' is past perfect: had + past participle. It places the departure before the later past arrival.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Simple past gives Arjun's arrival itself.
B: **Correct:** Past perfect identifies the earlier completed departure.
C: **Incorrect:** Past continuous describes waiting in progress.
D: **Incorrect:** Present perfect connects booking with the present.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Last Monday, Arjun reached the airport at 7 a.m. Unfortunately, the flight had already departed
before he arrived. While he was waiting for the next flight, he realized that he had forgotten his
passport at home. Now, he has booked another ticket. Tomorrow, he will be travelling again, and
by next week, he will have completed his business trip.
Which tense expresses an action in progress at a past time?
6406537087595.
had forgotten
6406537087596.
was waiting
6406537087597.
has booked
6406537087598.
will have completed
Published solution
Past continuous is was/were + verb-ing. 'Was waiting' shows the waiting as ongoing at the past moment when Arjun realized his mistake.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Had forgotten is past perfect and expresses an earlier completed event.
B: **Correct:** Was waiting is past continuous.
C: **Incorrect:** Has booked is present perfect.
D: **Incorrect:** Will have completed is future perfect.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Last Monday, Arjun reached the airport at 7 a.m. Unfortunately, the flight had already departed
before he arrived. While he was waiting for the next flight, he realized that he had forgotten his
passport at home. Now, he has booked another ticket. Tomorrow, he will be travelling again, and
by next week, he will have completed his business trip.
Which option refers to an action completed before a future point?
6406537087599.
will be travelling
6406537087600.
will have completed
6406537087601.
has booked
6406537087602.
had forgotten
Published solution
'By next week' establishes a future reference point. 'Will have completed' is future perfect and says the business trip will be finished by that point.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** Future continuous shows travel in progress.
B: **Correct:** Future perfect shows completion by the future deadline.
C: **Incorrect:** Present perfect refers to completion connected with now.
D: **Incorrect:** Past perfect places forgetting before another past event.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
“Vexed” means _____:
6406537087603.
Happy, surprised or amused
6406537087604.
Thrilled, excited or pleased
6406537087605.
Troubled, frustrated or worried
6406537087606.
Disillusioned, disrespected or offended
Published solution
The women are exhausted by heavy loads and a dangerous route and respond by cursing. In that context vexed means troubled or annoyed; frustrated and worried are the closest offered group.
**Answer: C.**
A: **Incorrect:** These positive feelings conflict with the women's distress.
B: **Incorrect:** Excitement and pleasure do not explain their angry complaints.
C: **Correct:** Best matches being troubled and frustrated by the difficult journey.
D: **Incorrect:** These can be negative feelings, but they are not the closest meaning of vexed in this context.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
Who is a “miscreant”?
6406537087607.
A person who does something good and praiseworthy
6406537087608.
A person who does something wrong or unlawful
6406537087609.
A person who does something courageous
6406537087610.
A person who does something intelligent
Published solution
A miscreant is someone who behaves badly or commits a wrong. The passage applies the word to people who hide near the path and assault women, which makes the negative meaning clear.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** A wrongdoer is the opposite of a person praised for good conduct.
B: **Correct:** Describes the wrong or unlawful conduct intended.
C: **Incorrect:** Courage is not the defining meaning of miscreant.
D: **Incorrect:** Intelligence is not the defining meaning of miscreant.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
Why did the women curse the “mool purush” of their family?
6406537087611.
Because he had chosen that remote and inaccessible village as the place
where his family would settle
6406537087612.
Because he demanded all of their earnings from them
6406537087613.
Because he would not lead the way through the hills
6406537087614.
Because he did nothing about the tigers that attacked the people
Published solution
The passage directly explains the abuse: the ancestor had chosen Phansawale, a remote village separated from the outside world by difficult hills and rivers. The women blame that settlement choice for their exhausting journeys.
**Answer: A.**
A: **Correct:** Restates the explicit reason given in the passage.
B: **Incorrect:** The passage does not say he demanded their earnings.
C: **Incorrect:** The complaint is about his choice of settlement, not refusal to guide them.
D: **Incorrect:** Tiger attacks are a hazard of the route, but this is not the stated reason for blaming the ancestor.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
In the sentence below, the word in bold is used as _____
"The steep **climbs**, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were
extremely slippery."
6406537087615.
A verb
6406537087616.
An adverb
6406537087617.
A noun
6406537087618.
An adjective
Published solution
In 'The steep climbs ... were extremely slippery', climbs names the ascending stretches of the route. It is the head of the plural noun phrase and agrees with were. The adjective steep describes it. The same spelling can be a verb elsewhere, but function depends on this sentence.
**Answer: C.**
A: **Incorrect:** Here climbs names things; it does not state an action performed by a subject.
B: **Incorrect:** It does not modify a verb, adjective or another adverb.
C: **Correct:** It is a plural noun and the subject head.
D: **Incorrect:** Steep is the adjective describing climbs.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
Based on your reading of the passage, match the adjective to the noun it modifies.
1. Obscure
6406537087619.
Spirits
6406537087620.
Armor
6406537087621.
Ditch
6406537087622.
Snakes
Published solution
Locate the actual phrase: the village 'lay in an obscure ditch'. Obscure describes the ditch as remote or little known. Match the adjective to the noun it modifies in the passage.
**Answer: C.**
A: **Incorrect:** Spirits is modified by evil.
B: **Incorrect:** Armor is modified by ancient.
C: **Correct:** The text explicitly says obscure ditch.
D: **Incorrect:** Snakes is modified by venomous.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
Based on your reading of the passage, match the adjective to the noun it modifies.
2. Venomous
6406537087623.
Spirits
6406537087624.
Armor
6406537087625.
Ditch
6406537087626.
Snakes
Published solution
The passage explicitly refers to venomous snakes. Venomous means capable of delivering venom; here it describes the dangerous snakes encountered on the journey.
**Answer: D.**
A: **Incorrect:** Spirits is paired with evil.
B: **Incorrect:** Armor is paired with ancient.
C: **Incorrect:** Ditch is paired with obscure.
D: **Correct:** The phrase is venomous snakes.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
Based on your reading of the passage, match the adjective to the noun it modifies.
3. Evil
6406537087627.
Spirits
6406537087628.
Armor
6406537087629.
Ditch
6406537087630.
Snakes
Published solution
The well is surrounded by frightening stories of evil spirits. Evil directly describes spirits in this noun phrase.
**Answer: A.**
A: **Correct:** The text explicitly says evil spirits.
B: **Incorrect:** Armor is described as ancient.
C: **Incorrect:** Ditch is described as obscure.
D: **Incorrect:** Snakes is described as venomous.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
Based on your reading of the passage, match the adjective to the noun it modifies.
4. Ancient
6406537087631.
Spirits
6406537087632.
Armor
6406537087633.
Ditch
6406537087634.
Snakes
Published solution
The shrubs are compared with ancient armor. Ancient means very old and modifies armor in that comparison.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** The spirits are described as evil.
B: **Correct:** The comparison uses the phrase ancient armor.
C: **Incorrect:** The ditch is described as obscure.
D: **Incorrect:** The snakes are described as venomous.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
The narrator figuratively refers to a “mist” that shrouds the huge, deep well on the women’s way.
What is being described here as the “mist”?
6406537087635.
The collapsed protective walls of the well
6406537087636.
The chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there
6406537087637.
The howling wind
6406537087638.
The barren open spaces
Published solution
The well is 'shrouded in the mist of chilling stories'. Mist is a metaphor: frightening stories about evil spirits surround the well and make it feel mysterious and threatening. It is not a literal weather report.
**Answer: B.**
A: **Incorrect:** The text says the well lacks protective walls; collapsed walls are not the metaphorical mist.
B: **Correct:** The chilling stories are the figurative covering around the well.
C: **Incorrect:** The howling wind is a separate danger.
D: **Incorrect:** The open spaces describe the route rather than the stories surrounding the well.
Read the passage and answer the given subquestions.
Women from our village traveled to the market at Ratnagiri to sell various things. They trudged
the whole distance with huge, heavy bundles on their heads, filled with firewood or grass, rice or
semolina, long pieces of bamboo, baskets of ripe or raw mangoes. Their loads would be heavy
enough to break their necks. They would start their journey to Ratnagiri early in the morning.
Between our village and Ratnagiri, the road was difficult to negotiate as it wound up and down the
hills. It was quite an exhausting trip.
When they came to the first hill, the vexed women would utter the choicest abuses, cursing the
mool purush (the male ancestor from whom the family is said to have taken root) of our family,
who, had he heard them, would have died again. The reason for the abuse was quite simple. It
was he who had chosen this particular village, Phansawale, in the back of beyond, for his people to
settle. It was an extremely difficult and inconvenient terrain, as it lay in an obscure ditch in a far-off
corner of the hills. Two high hills stood between the village and the outside world. The steep
climbs, with their narrow winding paths full of jutting sharp stones and pebbles, were extremely
slippery. One wrong step and one would straightaway roll down to one’s death somewhere in the
bottom of the deep valleys. Then there were two big rivers to cross. These rushed down the hills,
looping through thick forests and valleys, their bellies carrying who knows what under the deep
water. But that wasn’t all! After crossing the hills and the rivers, the women had to walk quite a
distance on a long, dusty, and dirty path till they reached the city. Every time a toe crushed against
a jutting stone, a curse rang out, probably making the poor ancestor turn in his grave.
Occasionally, the women heard the bloodcurdling roars of a tiger even in broad daylight and,
indeed, incidents of tigers attacking people on their way were not uncommon. Danger lurked
everywhere. It crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s
viper) and phurse (Saw-scaled viper) who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the
travelers. The barren open spaces were covered with shrubs as sharp as the teeth of those
creatures and resembled some ancient armor. The howling wind, ferocious enough to topple one
to one’s death, blew continuously. Then there was a huge, deep well on the way, without any
protective walls around, shrouded in the mist of chilling stories of evil spirits lurking there. All of
these would strike one’s heart cold with terror. And as if all this were not enough, there would be
freaks and perverts, hiding in shrubs and trees, who occasionally assaulted the helpless women.
They would be tense not only because of the obvious threat these miscreants posed, but also
because of what it would do to their reputations.
Excerpted from: Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. Translated by Maya
Pandit,
In the sentence below, to whom/what does “it” refer?
“**It** crawled across one’s path in the form of venomous snakes such as ghonus (Russel’s viper) and
phurse (Saw-scaled viper), who looked as if they wanted to inquire casually after the travelers.”
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A snake
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A tiger
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A curse
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Danger
Published solution
Read the preceding sentence: 'Danger lurked everywhere.' The next 'It' continues that subject, personifying danger as something that crawls in the form of snakes. The snakes are a form of the danger, rather than the antecedent of it.
**Answer: D.**
A: **Incorrect:** Snakes illustrate the form danger takes; the antecedent is the earlier noun danger.
B: **Incorrect:** The earlier tiger is not what is said to take the form of snakes.
C: **Incorrect:** A curse is not the subject continued by this pronoun.
D: **Correct:** Danger is the explicit preceding subject and the pronoun's referent.
